Seoul: U.S.-listed e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. announced a significant decline in its operating profit for the fourth quarter, reporting a 97 percent drop attributed to a recent large-scale data breach. This development prompted the company's founder to issue a personal apology.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Coupang's operating profit for the three months ending in December fell sharply to 11.5 billion won (US$8 million) from 435.3 billion won in the same period of the previous year. The company also reported a net loss of 37.7 billion won, a stark contrast to the net profit of 182.7 billion won recorded during the same timeframe last year. Despite these setbacks, sales increased by 15 percent, reaching 12.81 trillion won from 11.11 trillion won.
The data breach had a significant impact on Coupang's performance. Initially, the company reported that data from around 3,000 accounts had been compromised. However, a subsequent joint public-private inspection revealed that over 33.6 million user accounts were exposed. "The data incident is estimated to have adversely impacted fourth-quarter revenue growth, active customers and paid Wow membership, as well as profitability, beginning in December," the company stated.
During a conference call discussing the company's earnings, Kim Bom-suk, Coupang's founder and board chairman, publicly apologized for the distress and inconvenience caused by the data leak. This marked his first in-person remarks regarding the incident. "Everything Coupang has achieved has been driven by our single goal of delivering a Wow experience to our customers. We are doing our utmost to earn customers' trust, as nothing is more serious for us than failing to meet their expectations," Kim stated. He had previously issued a written apology in late December.
Despite the challenges faced in the fourth quarter, Coupang reported record earnings for the entire year of 2025, supported by growth in its retail and delivery segment, along with new business ventures. Net income for the year more than tripled to 303 billion won, up from 94 billion won the previous year. Operating profit for the year increased by 12.7 percent to 679 billion won, while sales rose 18.9 percent to 49.11 trillion won, compared to 41.29 trillion won in 2024.